Half-Blooded, Half Chosen
by theteenagefandom
Summary: My name? Echo Jackson. Camp Half-Blood is my summer...The NYC Institute is my winter. My mother, daughter of Hecate and a shadowhunter, fell for Poseidon and gave birth to me. I was too powerful. Monsters killed her when I was born. At seventeen, I'm on a quest to get the Athena Parthenos back to NYC...but will my bind to Calypso kill me? Is someone taking advantage of it? TMI/PJO
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so before I start...Good grief is this place confusing. :P I've conquered every creative writing/fan-fiction place there is...and I finally get the opportunity to come here and it took me forever to figure everything out. Bear with me.**

**Anyways...I had to fix up my chapters. Little problem with the editing...yeah, I failed at that point. I totally forgot to put paragraphs in, because in most other places it's automatic. Ah well, c'est la vie.**

**So, backround story...muahaha. So, in a nutshell, my character, Echo Jackson, has been tied to Calypso. It's a bond that was forged by her father, Poseidon made it because he took compassion on Calypso's state. This means that everything that Calypso feels, I feel, and visa versa, only sometimes...it's worse than just emotions. This part of the story is loosely based off the Percy Jackson series...but in the next few chapters, the Mortal Instruments gets introduced, as Echo is also a shadowhunter at birth. If it's confusing or anything, just let me know what and I'll explain it in the next chapter. Have fun! ;)**

**(STILL trying to figure things out here...ugh. What a pain.)**

**ALL the characters in this chapter and those to follow belong to Rick Riorden and Cassandra Clare. Echo, Andra, Alison, and Nisha are mine. **

* * *

I woke up in the morning, my head throbbing. Usually that meant my other half, Calypso, had lost yet another hero. Her heart must be really broken this time, cause my headache was worse than any other I have ever felt.

I threw my blankets aside, sliding my legs out of bed. Lucky for me, AND Percy, since he had met Calypso, no one knew my secret. My father, Poseidon, took pity on Calypso and spilt her in half: Her personality and heart-mirrored mine. I was different only for my sharp, sea green eyes and my stunning black/brown hair. I had her pale skin and almond/gold flecks in my eyes.

I shuffled over to my mirror. I looked terrible, like hell warmed over. I sat down, and summoned some seawater through the porthole to scrub my hair. It seemed to have worked a little too well. I flicked my wrist, getting rid of the water and leaving my hair perfectly curly. It turned a deep, dark brown. Now I'm really starting to look like Calypso. Of course. It would just be easier of we could become one again. My eyes even turned from green-gold to brown-green. I huffed, getting up and pulling on my skinny jeans, blue/teal tank, and black boots.

I flung my door open, and was hit with a vision: Leo on a beach...with Calypso? A raft was bobbing towards them. She forced him on, and they seemed to exchange words. Suddenly, she grabbed him and kissed him, then shoved him away. I could feel his soft kiss sting my own lips...mmm. I was hit with a realization: she had been affected by my love for Leo.

My sight returned, and I slumped onto the floor, staring at the wall, the kiss still tingling on my lips. "Ech! Leo's back!" I heard Hazel call out down the hall. I stood shakily, walking slowly out towards the main deck. Leo was being tackled by Piper, and by Hazel. I walked towards the group, still shaken by my vision. I knew what it meant: Calypso and I were rejoining. That is why my hair and eyes were turning a funny color. I was lost in thought, but I could feel Leo's eyes burning into me. He stared at me, mouth agape. I locked eyes with him.

"What?" His mouth snapped shut.

"N-nothing." He shuffled past me into the lower decks. Piper seemed to notice the change too.

"What happened to your hair and eyes?" She inquired.

"Long story." I retorted. "I'm going to go talk to Leo about the engine. Something's squealing down there." I forced a grin, and ran down to the engine room.

Leo sat with his head in his hands, clearly upset. I knocked on the side of the door, slowly pushing it open. His head lifted, and I was struck by how much he had changed over the months. His normally impish face had gotten more chiseled, and his hair had grown out, flopping over his eyes in a really cute way that made my heart go ka-THUMP. He had gotten a little taller too, so he stood maybe an inch over me. His eyes were darker, still full of humor and mischief, but now they were full of pain.

"You okay?" I asked. He stared blankly at the wall, emotions running wildly over his face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I slid my feet across the floor, holding my hand out for him to help him up. He looked at it, a sad smile playing across his face. He grasped it, standing up and peering into my eyes.

"You look...like someone I know. Your hair and eyes have changed..." his voice broke off, the hurt more obvious.

"Calypso?" I whispered. His eyes widened.

"How did you know that?" The shock was present. I smiled sadly.

"She's...um. How do I put this?" I raked my hands through my hair, biting my lip. He stared at me.

"Do you know her? Can you contact her?" His eagerness hurt.

I laughed bitterly.

"I'd hope that I knew her, since she's me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she and I are the same person. My father, Poseidon, took pity on her because she couldn't be allowed off her island. So, he took half of her, an exact copy of who she was, and put it into me. She was allowed to contact me, to see the outside world, and to feel what I did. She could see me dance, learn, and love others."

I could feel tears welling up, and I sniffed them back, collapsing on the floor to lean against the wall.

"That's probably why she liked you so much, even when you left, when she hated the heroes for leaving her." I felt a single tear slide down my face. Leo watched me.

"So why are you crying then? What do you mean by 'probably'?"

"Because she is crying right now, probably upset that you left her. Trust me, every time she's gotten her heart broken, mine gets ripped apart too."

I was full on sobbing now.

"It's awful. I've never felt this crappy before." I coughed out.

"You haven't explained why you said 'That's probably why she liked you so much' part." He told me, looking concerned.

"Because I have had a crush on you for the longest time, you just never noticed. I assumed you didn't care. "

After the words slipped out, I could feel Leo's wide eyes staring at me. I wiped the tears away, and stood quickly.

"I...um. I should go." I couldn't even look at him. I pushed past him and opened the door to the hall, happy for the chance to escape.

I headed for my cabin upstairs, running the whole way. Tears streamed down my face. As I entered the cabin, I closed the door, and opened the secret door in my closet. The tiny room was just big enough to store a few books and some cushions for when I needed some time to vedge and be alone. I closed the door behind me, not even bothering to turn the light on, and I broke down.

My chest heaved with silent sobs, and I fell deeper into darkness. My heart was being ripped apart slowly and painfully. Leo would never like me. He loved Calypso. I'd be kicked out of my own kind, forced to go back to live with the shadow-hunters, to be a third wheel again. I buried my face into my arms, drawing my knees up to my head. My sobs slowed to sniffs, as I calmed down slowly. I planned to leave a note on my dresser and let someone find it, so I didn't have to be embarrassed in front of Leo again.

As I was planning my escape, I heard a soft knock on my door. I stilled my breath.

"E? Are you in there?"

Leo. My heart stopped. I almost began to cry again, but I restrained the waterfall. I heard my door squeal open and he stepped in. I could hear him mutter, mostly about himself.

"You're an idiot, Valdez...a girl finally likes you and you let her get away." He grumbled. I heard him turn back to walk away. I hesitated, but cleared my throat.

"In here, Leo." I rasped.

His footsteps grew louder as they made their way into the closet. He opened the door, and moonlight streamed into my tiny room. It must have been longer than I thought. I kept my eyes closed, leaning my head against the wall to my right. His hand touched my cheek, sending shivers down my spine.

"I'm sorry, Ech. I didn't mean to hurt you." His voice was low and full of anxiety. I lifted my hand and placed it on top of his, tightening my grasp. His hand was warm.

"It's okay." My voice was thick with hurt, even I could hear it. Leo grabbed me by the arms, and lifted me up into a standing position. I forced my eyes open, to see his face inches from mine. He pulled me into a hug, and I began to sob again, hot tears running down my face. He rubbed my back gently.

I calmed down, lifting my head up. I watched him, but he looked away, turning from me. I wasn't going to let him get away again. I grabbed his arm.

"Leo."

He turned back, halfway, and looked at me from the side. I smiled.

"C'mere, repair boy." I tugged at his arm and walked him over to the wall, and placed my hand on it.

"Sed Lex, Dura Lex." I uttered my passcode, and the side of the ship slid open, and formed a patio. I stepped out, and pulled Leo with me. He tripped on the step down, and fell, pulling me down with him. I landed directly on top of him, staring at his dark brown eyes. His hand reached up and slid around my neck, and back down tracing my jawline.

"I like you." He said to me. I smiled.

"I like you too." I placed my hand on his cheek, and his hand slid down my arm and covered my hand. I bent down, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He laughed, a chuckle if you will. He reached back up, and swept his hand through my hair, and pulled me back down. Centimeters away from his lips, He whispered, "Is that all you got?" I felt the warmth of his breath on my mouth. I smiled, and closed the space between us.

His lips were so incredibly soft; I couldn't imagine why no other girl wouldn't have kissed him. He smelled like machine oil, but I didn't care. I pushed my hand into his curls, and kissed him back. His arms tightened around my waist, and my hands pushed deeper into his hair. The curls were soft and sprang back once I let them go.

He pulled away, but I grabbed him back, giving him one final kiss before rolling off of him and standing up. I leaned on the railing, and felt his arms wrap around my waist. I leaned back, enjoying his scent and relaxing for the one time I could. He kissed my neck softly, and pulled me closer. I ran my hands along his, relishing the feel of his skin.

He rested his chin on my head, burying his nose into my hair.

I turned around in his arms to face him. The moonlight illuminated his face, highlighting his cheekbones and eyes.

"Listen, I should go." I told him reluctantly. His arms tightened around my waist, sending shivers down my spine.

"You can't yet. I won't let you go to bed that soon." He whispered to me. He rested his forehead against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. I ran my finger down his sharp jaw, flicking his lips once I reached his chin. He laughed gently, a low noise disturbing in the silence of the night.

He leaned in to kiss me again, his lips barely brushing mine. I pulled away, and rested my head on his shoulder. He trailed delicate kisses up and down my neck, ending back at my mouth. He deepened this kiss, gently pressuring my mouth with his. He slid his hands up my waist, holding me tightly. The cool night air seemed to warm up. He let go of my waist, pulling away.

I went back for another, my lips barely touching his before I doubled over in pain. I collapsed on the deck, gasping in agony, as an indescribable jolt of pain seared my stomach.

As quickly as the pain came, it subsided. I lifted my hands from where I was clenching them over my stomach, and saw red. I began to feel dizzy, like the whole world had just turned upside down.

Leo knelt down next to me, concerned.

"Are you ok?" He whispered. I forced a smile.

"I'll be fine." I attempted to stand up, but I grew lightheaded and fell to my knees. I rested my head against the railing, taking deep breaths.

"Are you sure you're not lying to me and trying to look strong?" Leo sounded very concerned at this point. Couldn't he see that I was hurt? I rolled my eyes, mentally scolding him. I had to remain strong for Percy and the crew.

"There is no need to dode on me, Leo. I can take care of myself." I smiled. "Just help me up, please."

He lifted me up into his arms, and carried me to my bed. He put me down, carefully, and closed the door to my patio. I rolled over, sending white hot pain into my stomach.

"Leave me for now, Leo. I'll heal, remember?" I muttered. He nodded consent, and strode to my bed.

"Goodnight, sea glass." He kissed me gently, sending a shiver down my spine, all the way into my feet. I pulled him down, deepening our kiss, suddenly terrified I would never see him again. He pulled back, kissing my forehead and brushing my now black hair away from my face.

He walked out of my bedroom, closing the door. I squinted, making sure he was gone before pulling my shirt up over my chest. What used to be a tanned stomach was now decorated with an ugly red wound. The center was a perfect circle, completely black, with lines of red tension tracing their way up to my chest. I pulled my shirt down, deciding not to tell anyone. I couldn't be a burden now, not with Percy and Annabeth still in Tartarus. I rolled onto my back, pulling my covers to my chin, a desperate attempt to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up, stiff and sore from the wound on my stomach. I sat up, pulling my shirt up again to check the damage. The ugly red and black hole in my stomach was fading, but I couldn't help but worry about Calypso...She must be hurt. I shook my head, trying to get a grip on my thoughts. I would have to iris-message her later. I yawed and stretched, careful not to reopen the wound. I brushed and curled my black hair with the ocean water, leaving the smell of salt on my skin. My makeup was still on, a little brown eye shadow with a thin line of black eyeliner circling my eyes. It was a gift from Piper, who claimed she had no need for it. It was true, considering how pretty she was even when she downplayed her beauty.

I pulled on my black jeans and my tie dye teal tank with my black leather jacket over that. Just in case, I strapped my special throwing knives to my leg, and my two curved daggers to my hip. I swung a seraph blade over my shoulder and slid my stele up my sleeve. After all, my mother was a shadowhunter. I had her blood; I could take the runes on my skin. I zipped up my black boots, and walked out into the hall to face the day ahead of me. I was walking at a rather fast pace, my golden green eyes fixed on the dagger I was polishing. Turning the corner, I immediately ran into Leo. I fell on top of him, clutching my dagger to my chest to stop it from plunging into his chest.

"This appears to be your talent." He laughed into my ear.

"What? Falling? I'm the clumsiest person you'll ever know." I giggled back. I mentally slapped myself. I mean, when did I ever sound like an everyday school-girl with a crush?

"Thanks for not killing me, though." He said. I smiled.

"As if the thought would have ever crossed my mind." I snorted.

He tucked my black hair behind my ear, pulling me down for a good morning kiss. He smelled like salt. I must be rubbing off on him, I thought giddily.

"Well, this is new." A tired voice mumbled behind us. My head snapped up, and I rolled off Leo. For a moment, all I saw was a shadow, but within in it was the slender form of Nico Di Angelo.

"Good morning Nico." I greeted him from the floor.

"Is it?" He muttered, sliding past us. I looked at Leo.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

Leo shook his head. "He's been like that since Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus." He responded.

I wrinkled my forehead. "Nico's been like my little brother for the longest time. I think I'll go check on him." I said, standing up and brushing myself off. I held out a hand for Leo, hauling him up.

"I need to check the coordinates anyway." He said. "I could use some help, though." I opened my mouth to make an excuse, but Jason rounded the corner before I could say anything.

"Hey, Jason. I guess you decided to grace our day with your presence. That's good, I need help with our coordinates today." Leo laughed, punching Jason playfully in the shoulder. I rolled my eyes. Grateful as I was for Leo's comic relief, it could get really annoying sometimes.

Jason shook his head. "You could have just asked for help, Valdez." Leo grabbed him by the arm, practically dragging him down the hall, talking about coordinates and destinations. I ran down the hall, in the opposite direction. Nico was walking this way, I assumed. Unless he magically teleported somewhere, he'll end up in the stables. Leo had built them for the pegasai, but he wasn't aware that they were more free spirits than stable horses. I'd spent time down there though, the peace and tranquility was nice every once and a while.

I nearly tripped down the stairs as I made my way down lower. I was certain I was going to kill myself being clumsy, not by a monster or demon. Like Leo said, it was my talent, after all. I laughed quietly to myself, remembering the time when I nearly took off Percy's head while we were training with knives. He tried to distract me by throwing his hoodie to the side, and it worked, unfortunately. My eyes followed the hoodie, forgetting I was in mid-swing and I shaved off a bit of his hair instead of hitting the target.

As my foot hit the bottom stair, I could already see Nico's outline on the glass doors in the middle of the floor. Those were built so the pegasai could come and go as they wished, but we never had them in the stables, so the doors were never used. I walked up to him, sitting down near his thin frame. He always wore black, like I did, but I wore it because I was raised in the Institute during the winter, when I wasn't at camp. I touched his shoulder hesitantly.

"Hey, kiddo." I whispered. He flinched at first, but I saw a ghost of a smile slide faintly across his face.

"You haven't called me that for years." He looked at me, his pale skin glowing slightly like it always did.

I shrugged. "You seemed to have outgrown it by now." His dark blue eyes flicked over my worried face. His demeanor immediately changed. His face tightened and his eyes glared at me.

"I don't need sympathy, Echo." He muttered, standing up.

I followed him, my boots clicking against the cold glass. "I wasn't offering any."

He shook his head, choppy black hair falling into his eyes, hiding his face from me. "It's my fault." He sounded accusatory, like I should have known.

"What was?" I questioned, my green eyes narrowing.

"That Percy and Annabeth fell. I could have saved them. I couldn't reach, they were too far...too far." He slammed his fist into the wall, sending a cracking noise echoing through the stables. I grabbed his slender shoulders, hauling him back and turning him to face me.

"Nothing was your fault. You know that Percy wouldn't have let go anyway, he wouldn't want Annabeth to experience Tartarus alone." I told him firmly. He brushed my hands off his shoulders, but not before I cupped my hand under his chin. "Remember what I used to tell you? Chin up, be proud, keep positive." I stared into his eyes, now full of misery. He nodded his consent. "Don't worry. Percy and Annabeth aren't stupid, they'll be fine, okay? Let me know if you need anything. I'm always here if you need to talk." I released my grip, turning to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist.

"I think I do need something, E." His voice cracked.

I arched an eyebrow, looking over at him. "What, exactly?"

His face flushed. "When Bianca was alive, she...um." He let go of my wrist, lowering his head. "Never mind, it's stupid."

I sighed. "Do you need a hug?"

My voice echoed out around the room.

He turned away slightly, black hair sliding over his eyes again. "NO." He glared at me through strands of thick hair. "If you ever mention this to anyone, I swear..."

"Nico. Like I'd ever think of committing such a drastic deed." My voice shook from barely contained sarcasm. Also my talent. He cracked a smile, something I hadn't seen for four years. I shook my head, and beckoned to him. He buried his head in my shoulder, frail arms around my neck. I was honestly shocked at how thin he had gotten.

"Eat a sandwich, kid." I said, my voice muffled by his hair.

I heard an indignant huff. "I eat...sometimes." He murmured.

I untangled myself from him, poking his ribs. He laughed then. "Doesn't feel like you eat..." I grinned. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, trying not to smile.

"There's the Nico I used to know." I tossed my head successfully, throwing my black, curly hair everywhere.

"Go back upstairs, Leo probably needs you." Nico stated. I looked at him sharply. He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at the floor. I wrapped my arms around him again, which resulted in another fit of indignant noises, then I turned away, heading for the staircase. "Oh, and Echo?" I looked over my shoulder. He smiled faintly. "Thanks." I nodded, and headed up the stairs to see what Leo had most likely set on fire.

Before I went onto the main deck, I ran into my room quickly to iris-message Calypso and, if I had the time, my friends back at the Institute. Grabbing a few gold drachmas off my dresser, I summoned some sea-spray through my porthole. I let the light hit it, and threw a coin into the steam.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my humble offering." The steam thinned, creating a glassy look to it. "Calypso, Ogygia, please." I asked. The steam began to contort, turning black for a moment, and then unexpectedly blew up in my face, water washing over me. I stood, dripping wet, shell-shocked. There was definitely something wrong. I had to talk to her, but there was no way I could. I was the only one allowed to contact her besides Olympus. I racked my brain for answers...but none came. Ogygia was protected by wards, and Calypso usually only got a hero beached there every few years. The only ones who might have the option to see her regularly were the gods. They could care less, though.

I felt a slight twinge in my stomach again, so I pulled up my teal tank top. The red stress-marks were receding, but the small hole in the center of the wound was turning an ugly shade of purple-black. Worried, I pulled my shirt back down and grabbed another drachma. I needed some old friends to talk to. I repeated the process, only this time instead of calling Calypso, I called out Isabelle Lightwood, Institute NYC. The message shimmered, and cleared to show a slim black haired girl dressed in the same black gear as I was wearing, training with a boy who looked exactly like her.

"Hey Isabelle." I said. Her head jerked up, pale blue eyes flicking towards me. Her mouth stretched into a grin, and she tugged on the boy's jacket with slender fingers.

"Alec! Look who it is!" She said happily, wavy black hair flying as she turned. He turned towards her, and upon seeing me, smiled. Alec was her brother, but their personalities differed quite a bit. He was an interesting character, really. Straight black hair flopped into his pale blue eyes, like Nico's did when he hung his head. His skin was still light, but slightly sun-kissed, and high arching eyebrows showed surprise at my appearance. I placed my hands near the message, focusing. If I centered my energy enough, I could access enough power to walk through the message like a portal.I took a step forward, and fell onto the hard marble floors of the institute.

"Oww..." I groaned, rubbing my head.

"Are you okay?" Alec's back was turned to me.

"No, I'm clearly hurt from horrible puncture wounds because, you know, walking through the portal is so damaging." I slammed a hand to my chest. "Oh no! I'm dying!"

Isabelle didn't buy my pathetic act. She rushed towards me and hauled me up by the arms and immediately wrapped me into a tight hug, which resulted in me getting the air crushed out of my lungs, then held me out at arms length.

"You are in desperate need of more weapons." She shook her head at me.

I snorted. "I know. I can steal a seraph blade from the weapons room before I go. I can't stay long though, the boys need my help navigating the ship. We're running low on hands on deck."

"Can we come with you? We've been bored sick sitting in this stuffy old building waiting for Magnus Bane to come back from Idris with Jace, Clary and Simon." Alec interjected, running his thumb along a throwing knife. I looked closer at the blade.

"If Magnus is okay with you tagging along, I don't care. Besides, I'd like some old friends on board with me anyway. I don't see how the Argo II crew could object to spare hands, shadowhunter or not." I replied, reaching out for the knife. He looked at me, tossing it handle first. I caught it, inspecting the shining metal.

"That's one of yours. I found it in Idris. How it got there, I've no idea." Isabelle informed me.

I slid in into my wrist sheath. "Thanks. Listen, I can call Magnus to ask if you guys can come with me, if one of you can grab me an extra seraph blade." Isabelle nodded, and ran towards the weapons room. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed Magnus' number. Unlike most demigods, I could use a cellphone without having hoards of monsters knocking on my back door. It was because of the shadowhunter blood running through my veins. Lucky for me, I didn't have to find out if they could pick up on my call, because Magnus picked up on the third ring. Odd, he usually knew when people were about to call him, being a nineteen year old immortal warlock.

"Hi...Magnus?" I greeted him, unsure of his reaction to my calling him in Idris.

"I know, Isabelle and Alec want to go with you back onto the Argo II. It's fine, as long as Jace, Clary, Simon and I can come once we get back from the meeting." Magnus responded. There's the inner warlock kicking in...

"Sure." I held the phone away from my mouth for a moment. "My crew would probably appreciate the extra hands anyways." I muttered under my breath, happy that I didn't have to persuade him to let Isabelle and Alec go.

"I'll see you shadowhunters later." Magnus said, and the click on the end of the line signaled that he had hung up. I hit end call and stuffed my smartphone back into my pocket. Isabelle emerged from the weapons room, carrying a seraph blade. The sword itself was beautiful, sharp as hell and clear as glass. Perfect for monsters and demons. She tossed it to me, and I caught it by the hilt, sliding it into the extra sheath on my back.

"I'll come get you guys in a moment, but first let me make certain the ship is on the correct coordinates, otherwise you might end up in the ocean." I told them quickly, opening a green portal in front of me.

"It should only take a few minutes, shouldn't it?" Isabelle questioned, eyebrows raised. Alec crossed his arms, pale blue eyes narrowed.

"Yes, it should. Just wait for the portal to open up again, and I should be able to reach through and grab you two. Oh, and Magnus said he's going to meet us later with Jace, Clary, and Simon." I said, walking towards my portal.

"Wonderful." Alec muttered.

"See you in a few!" Isabelle yelled as I stepped through the swirling green mist.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to my first three reviewers! If it hadn't been for you guys...Well, let's just say I wouldn't have noticed the fact that I forgot to edit everything before uploading. :) I appreciate it! Thank you so much! **

**3 Echo **

**Oh, and BTW...I might update a new chapter right after this one because i love you guys. :)**

* * *

I ended up falling on my butt near the foot of the stairs by my cabin. I clomped up them, rounding the corner and exiting onto the expansive upper decks. Covered in polished oak, it was at least three hundred feet long and five hundred feet wide. A huge mast, cracked and splintered in many places, rose up out of the middle, holding twenty full sized sails. Right now, they were stilled, barely flapping in the wind.

Leo and Jason were up by the bow "décor" of the ship, better known as Festus, the head of the bronze dragon Leo had rebuilt a year and a half ago. I jogged closer, beginning to hear a heated argument between the two.

"I'm TELLING you, we should head east to avoid the oncoming storm! I can feel the energy in the air towards the west!" Jason yelled. He was throwing off sparks, eyes glowing with electricity.

"If we head east, it'll take us at least another day to get back on track. We don't have that kind of time to waste avoiding a stupid storm!" Leo snapped. His nose caught on fire, which usually happened when he was either annoyed, jealous, or embarrassed.

I stepped up between them, placing one hand on either of their chests, shoving them apart.  
"ENOUGH!" I growled, green sparks rolling off my arms, my eyes glowing with light. Jason and Leo stumbled back, far enough away to avoid me. Whenever I got mad, the small portion of Hecate's magic I had in my blood acted up. After all, she was my great-grandmother.

"I'm the daughter of the sea, I'LL choose where we go." I looked at both of them. Leo's eyes narrowed, but he nodded consent. Jason leaned on the rail heavily, ignoring me. I closed my eyes, holding out my hands, palms up. I tried to relax, to use my mind's eye to get the coordinates we needed, but my thoughts were focused more on Calypso and what had happened to her.

I shook my head, trying to clear my brain and focus. The sea spray blew over the bow, touching my skin gently, leaving small droplets of water in my hair and on my skin. I exhaled, letting the coordinates come to my mind. I opened my eyes, and turned to Leo.

"We go due northeast, avoiding all land until we see a single mountain in the distance." I informed him, stepping closer. I guided his eye to a small blur on the horizon.

"Aim for that, basically." I said. I turned to walk away, but he caught my arm, pulling me back. He reached behind me, and pulled my hair out of its tight braid, fluffing it gently. The condensation from the sea spray made it slightly frizzy, but he didn't seem to care. He traced his finger down my cheek, bringing it to rest on my chin. It led a trail of water to drip off my face. He kissed my forehead gently, and brushed past me to punch the coordinates into the control board. I watched him go, then walked down the deck.

"Oh, and I'm going to have my friends from the Institute come and help us out." I yelled over my shoulder to Leo and Jason. Leo nodded, fingers flying over the controls.

"We need it." He agreed.

"What do we need?" Piper asked, walking out onto the deck with Hazel and Nico, whom I didn't expect to come out of the stables quite yet.

"I'm going to bring some help out here. My friends from the Institute wanted to come, and besides, one shadowhunter on board this ship wasn't enough." I told them.

"One is all I need!" Leo shouted over the sound of the engines starting.

"Love you too!" I yelled back. I held out my hands, one up high like I would if I was raising a hand in class, the other down low near my hips. The really cool thing about being a descendant of Hecate was that I could learn magic from Magnus, who was supposedly quite knowledgeable in the subject. Recently, I learned how to create a portal. I couldn't transport things from really far away yet, but I could summon enough energy to get Isabelle and Alec on board. That's what I was attempting to do right now, anyway.

There was a loud crack, like thunder, which was the sound of dimensions breaking, and green mist began to swirl from my hands to the break I had created. It rotated quicker and quicker, and then I felt the void empty, right on top of me.

I fell backward, getting the wind knocked out of me by something heavy. I opened my green eyes to see Alec's pale blue one's staring at me.

"Umph. You're crushing me." I grunted. He stood up, pulling me to my feet.

"Sorry." He smiled. I shook my head.

"You're going to make Magnus jealous." I whispered to him. His smile faded.

"He left, remember?" He murmured back, walking towards Isabelle, who was picking up all the knives she had dropped. Piper had bent over, helping her to collect them all.

"Some of those might be mine, Izzy." I said, checking my sheaths. "When Alec fell on me, I think some went flying." Leo made a noise, and I looked over my shoulder to see him patting out the fire on his nose. I hid my smile with my hand, turning away.

"Hazel, can you separate the throwing knives for us?" I asked, throwing the ones I picked up towards the others.

"Sure!" She said, holding out a hand. The knives levitated slowly, and her forehead furrowed in concentration as they separated into different piles. Once she was done, they all clanged down back onto the deck.

"I didn't know you could do that." Nico muttered to Hazel. She shrugged.

"They're made of something a little more than just metal, so I can move them." She replied, walking towards the railing of the ship. Piper followed, putting her hand over Jason's, who decided to stay there skulking all day.

Alec finished sheathing all of his knives, and held one out to me.

"I forgot the sheath for this. You use them more than I do, why don't you keep it?" He said. I took it out of his hand, running a finger down the blade.

"It could be sharper, but I can always use another. Thanks. " I said. "Hey, feel free to set up something in my bedroom to sleep in. I've a porch that has a glass roof that can slide over it, so we can fit you guys in there." I pointed down the stairs. "Go down and to your left."

Isabelle nodded, her black hair snapping in the wind. "Thanks for letting us tag along."

"I was feeling a bit alone anyway. I'm used to living in the Institute. Really, y'all are doing me a favor by coming here." I responded, raking a hand through my wet, frizzy hair. Alec sighed, and took Isabelle by the arm.

"See you at dinner." He mumbled, dragging his sister behind him into the stairwell.

"Who are they, exactly?" Piper asked.

"I'll do a formal introduction during dinner, when everyone's here." I said.

"No, I meant what do they DO. Like, we do quests for the gods and things like that." She retorted.

Well, they're shadow hunters like me, usually half angel and half human. In my case, I'm half angel, half god." I informed her.

"You guys hunt demons, right?" Jason's eyebrows wrinkled.

"Yes, but we do it to keep the mundane, better known as mortals, safe." I said. "As of now, I've got two more shadowhunters, Jace Herondale and Clary Fairchild, coming along with our former mundane friend, now a vampire, Simon. Simon drank shadowhunter blood, so he can stay in the sunlight unlike most vampires, and warlock Magnus Bane is leading them."

"Good. It'll be nice having the extra help around here." Hazel stated. "Speaking of, I need help cooking dinner tonight."

"I'll go with you." Piper took Jason's arm, and dragged him after Hazel's retreating figure. "Come on Nico." She pushed the son of Hades through the door leading down to the stairs. He protested, but Piper didn't take no for an answer. I laughed silently to myself, turning towards the bow of the warship.

"I guess it's just you and me now." I walked towards Leo, who was still furiously flipping switches and pushing buttons on his control board. He avoided eye contact, but a little touch of jealousy was never a bad thing in my book.

Nevertheless, I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning into him. He paused, placing his hands over mine. I felt muscles shift under his thin shirt as he turned around towards me, kissing my mouth gently. His lips were salty from the ocean spray, but the familiar smell of machine oil lingered on his skin.

He hugged me closer as I pushed him against the control panel. He made surprised noise, but quieted as I slid my hands behind his neck, kissing him again. He sunk down slowly, leaning against the wooden panels, pulling me onto his lap.

His warm breath stirred my hair from my face, sending a chill down to my toes. I broke away, sliding off of him, deciding to rest my head against his shoulder instead. I closed my eyes, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me tightly.

"Well, well, well. This IS unexpected." A voice broke the silence.

"Magnus!" I choked in surprise, hitting my head on the control panel, startled. I sunk back down, glaring at the warlock. He was lounging against the railing, examining his seemingly flawless nails. I stood up, lightly smacking him on the shoulder. His eyes, slit like a cat's, flicked up, glowing yellow. All warlocks had a mark, whether it was unnaturally colored hair or skin, deformities such as claws for hands or feet, or unusual eyes like Magnus had.

"I did say I would come back when we were done in Idris." He murmured; letting magic blue sparks dance from fingertip to fingertip, highlighting his face, which was distinctly Asian, dark with high cheekbones. I sighed.

"Glad to see you're not dead yet, though." I muttered, leaning against the railing next to him.

"I've survived? Brilliant. I love it when I do that." A smile curled across his mouth. I shifted away from him, still annoyed about my throbbing head.

"You could have given me a warning or SOMETHING before scaring me half to death." I accused, folding my arms. Leo stood up next to me, touching my shoulder gently. Magnus studied him, yellow eyes narrowed.

"I'll be down in the dining area if you need me." Leo said before jogging across the deck, down the stairs to the mess hall. Magnus shook his head.

"Goodness, he does look quite a bit like Raphael, doesn't he? Same age, too." He commented. I stared at him, throwing up my hands in the air.

"Must everything go back to Raphael? Just because he, a mere vampire fledgling, kicked your ex girlfriend out of her position as head vampire of the New York clan, doesn't mean that everything revolves around him!" I rubbed my temples with my fingers. "Why are you here so early anyway? And where's Clary and Jace and Simon?" I asked.

"Jace had to pay a visit to family first before coming here." Magnus turned towards me, hands folded behind his back. "They'll be along soon, but for now, why don't you introduce me to your demigod friends?" He said, waving a ringed finger towards the door to below decks.

"You might scare a few of the older ones half to death, especially Hazel, whose moth-" Magnus cut me off before I could finish.

"Whose mother dabbled in witch craft. I knew her, actually. She was one of the few mundanes who actually understood warlock magic for what it was." He finished for me.

"Still, PLEASE be as normal as you can be." I pleaded. He shrugged, sending a shower of glitter from his black trench coat to the floor. He liked things to be sparkly, but I wasn't one to argue with his odd sense of fashion. If I had been alive as long as he had...well, he'd always been trendy anyway, from what his other warlock friends told me.

"Echo, you should know by now that I am anything but normal." He touched my arm briefly, before walking towards the door that led to many possibilities: If Hazel or Leo had cooked, the meal would be excellent. If Isabelle had helped in any possible way, our kitchen was probably either burnt down or full of smoke and ruined food.

"I take it that we're done here, and you want dinner." I guessed, following him. He turned to me, eyebrows wrinkled in dismay.

"Isabelle isn't cooking, right?" He asked.

"By the angel, I hope not." I responded, a faint smile gracing my lips.

He waited for me to catch up, then we both descended into a situation that, provided Isabelle was let near any of the food or kitchen tools, could be drastic.

Once we reached the well lit mess hall, there was steaming foods of all kinds set out on the table. The polished mahogany table held fruit salad, barbequed meats, tacos, beef and vegetable stew, a cheesy mess of mashed potatoes, gumbo, salad, burgers, pizza, an assortment of Chinese and Thai takeout, and every kind of drink to ever hit mankind.

"Wow." Magnus actually seemed surprised, for once in his life. I was just glad to see pizza and Chinese on the same table. Those were literally the best foods ever to be invented.

Hazel came out of the kitchen with more dishes balanced in her hands. Isabelle came out with utensils, and Alec followed with napkins.

"You didn't let Isabelle near any of the food, did you Hazel? I don't want to die...I'm too young, and as Magnus would put it, fabulous for the grave." I said, a small laugh escaping, making me clap a hand over my mouth. She shot a friendly glare my direction.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" She protested. Alec groaned, rubbing his forehead in mock frustration.

"I've lived with you for my entire, miserable life. I know you can't cook. If the world's existence depended on it, we'd all die of starvation before eating your strange, burnt concoctions." He shot in her direction. She gasped, smacking him with the dish towel she was holding. Alec stumbled back, laughing, rubbing his arm where she hit him.

Hazel looked over her shoulder at me. "Alec warned me before Isabelle could help me and Leo cook. You won't die tonight, I guarantee."

Before I could say anything, I heard a loud crash outside the door. Alec and Isabelle already had seraph blades drawn. I quietly slid three throwing knives out of my belt, walking slowly towards the door. I placed the palm of my hand on the wood, gently pushing it open. I saw a huge, shadowy figure bent over shards of glass, picking through them. I crept up behind the creature, but before I could slide my knife under its throat, it stood up and turned around. Once it saw me, crouched down in front of it, it yelled, and all the glass pieces crashed to the floor. The lights flicked on, and I saw the terrified face of Frank Zhang.

"Oh good, Frank's alive, y'all!" I stood up and shoved Frank through the door into the mess hall. He immediately froze upon seeing Alec, Isabelle, and Magnus in the room.

"Wh-who are they?" He asked.

"Friends. I'll introduce everyone in a moment, after we get that mess out there cleaned up. Magnus, can you possible fix that vase?" I asked, kicking the pieces into the room. Magnus gave the mess a sideways glance, and absentmindedly flicked his fingers towards the glass shards. They glowed slightly with blue light, and then flew together, seared back into one solid glass vase.

"Thanks." I picked up the new vase, setting it back into the case from whence it came.

"That was so COOL!" Leo exclaimed from his post near the kitchen door. Isabelle looked at him with annoyance on her face.

"He's a warlock, what did you expect?" She asked.

"Well, I thought warlocks did like tarot cards and stuff." Leo said. Magnus made an indignant noise.

"Tarot cards are for mundane idiots who think they understand what real magic is. I, myself, am a fabulous, trained professional." Magnus glared at Leo, cat's eyes narrowed.

"Who's drunk nearly half the time..." Alec muttered.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Magnus said.

"Is this really worth squabbling over?" Piper asked, looking over Leo's shoulder. "Why don't we all just sit down?" I could feel her charmspeak wash over me. Luckily, I wasn't so easily persuaded by her magic.

"Before we do, let me at least tell Frank who Alec and Isabelle and Magnus are!" I told Piper.

"Fine, go ahead." She walked back into the kitchen. I turned around, but Frank was gone. I looked for Hazel, who was setting dishes down on the table top.

"Hazel," I called. "Do you think you could go find Frank and explain what's going on here? He's gone." I asked. She looked up, and nodded, placing the remaining dishes in their spots.

"Go ahead and eat without me." She said before exiting. I nodded.

"Alright, everyone, let's eat!" I announced, pulling my chair out and collapsing down into it. Piper came out of the kitchen with Jason, sitting down next to Magnus, who was rubbing his temple.

"How did I even get myself wrapped up with you people?" He asked himself. I answered for him.

"Alec was dying, remember?" I said. He looked across the table at me. "That was a pretty good reason to help you Nephilim, wasn't it?"

"Nephilim? What's that mean?" Jason asked, sitting next to Piper.

"It's a nickname for shadowhunter." Alec responded, sitting down next to me, Isabelle next to him and on the other side of Magnus.

"It's a mouthful, is what it is." Piper reached for the vegetable stew.

"Who cares what we are? We're all here, we're all friends." Isabelle sounded exasperated.

"All I care about right now is eating food. I'm starving." I reached for the Chinese food, grabbing a few pieces of veggie pizza on the way.

"Agreed." Leo sat down on my other side, gently touching my wrist before reaching for the tacos and beef stew.

Magnus stared woefully at his feet. "I wish Chairman Meow was here."

I snorted.

"You can go a week or two without seeing your cat, I'm sure." I assured him between mouthfuls of noodles.

"He's only two!" He protested. I spread my hands.

"What does age have to do with anything?" He looked at me darkly for a moment.

"A hundred years can go by in a blink of an eye to someone like me, doomed to be immortal." He responded.

"But one day can be a thousand years worth of love." I shot back.

"She's right." Alec agreed, black hair flopping into his eyes as he nodded. I stared in shock.

"Since when do you ever say that I'm right? Are you sick? Have you been possessed?" I tried to sound genuinely concerned for his welfare. Didn't work.

"Jace is rubbing his sarcasm off on you." Isabelle said through a mouthful of burger.

"That's great." I rolled my green eyes, slumping back into my chair.

"So where are we going to anyway?" Jason asked.

"Some mountain Echo told me to head for." Leo answered.

"'Some mountain' doesn't sound good." Piper said.

"It's fine." I muttered, taking another bite out of my pot sticker. "Why don't we just finish eating, then we can go upstairs and talk about life then? Jace and Clary and Simon should be here by then, right Magnus?" I looked over at the apparent "nineteen" year old. He simply nodded.

"Then let's eat." Leo said, taking a second to last bite of taco.

I finished the contents of my Chinese takeout box, and chucked it towards the trash. Most everyone was done, but Jason was still eating.

"I think we missed the food. Darn." An amused voice broke the silence.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hi Jace." I turned around in my chair. "Don't worry, the food's edible. Isabelle wasn't allowed near any of it." Isabelle glared at me over the last of her burger.

He was slumped in the door frame, the light barely catching his blonde hair and golden eyes. He looked like a silhouette anyway, due to the fact he was dressed in all black like shadowhunters usually do.

"Oh good. Anything left?" He cocked his head at me. I nodded.

He walked into the room, Clary following him, face hidden under a mess of red curls as she was furiously writing or drawing something in that notebook of hers. Her eyes were completely fixed on the paper, causing her to bump into the table. Her green eyes snapped up, and noticing that she had spilled the last of the coffee everywhere, grabbed a wad of napkins to sponge it up.

"Good job, Fray." Simon's voice sounded from the doorway. Isabelle's head snapped up, and she ran out towards him, probably to tackle him for a kiss.

"Glad I'm no longer the only klutz around here." I said, giggling. She laughed.

"That's me, alright." Clary held up the dripping napkins. "What do I do with these?" Leo held out a hand.

"Give them to me." He dropped the last bite of taco in his mouth, and took the napkins from her. His hands caught fire, and the napkins blazed up for a moment before being reduced to ashes, leaving his hands grimy.

"You can't go one day without spontaneously combusting, can you?" Piper asked.

"What's the fun when you can't use the godly side of you?" He smiled, tossing the ashes on the floor.

"That's only slightly dangerous. Should I be afraid?" Jace murmured into my ear.

"Yes, please be afraid of something. Maybe it'll lower your ego a bit." Magnus muttered from behind his hand.

"I do not have an ego!" Jace protested. Everyone burst out laughing. Piper, Leo and Jason stared at us blankly.

"I'm not even going to ask." Jason sighed, grabbing his dishes and headed for the kitchen, Piper following him.

Leo leaned over. "I'll see you on the upper deck, okay?" I nodded, kissing him on the cheek before he went.

Once he was out of the room, I propped my feet up on the table, and knocked on the side of it with a throwing knife. Isabelle and Simon waltzed back into the room, and collapsed in the chairs next to Magnus.

"Glad to see you're alive, Simon. Well, as 'alive' as you can be." I said.

"Haha. Very funny." He looked at me through a mess of tangled brown hair.

"Well, since I've got your attention, so far, I have a question for y'all, but I don't want any of my other friends to know." I said.

"What?" Alec asked, forehead furrowed.

"Do you remember how my dad tied me to Calypso so she could have an anchor in the real world?" I asked. "How he made me be able to feel what she felt, and visa versa?"

Magnus sat up, intrigued. "It was like you two were parabati, but your bonds were stronger than that, even."

I nodded. "The problem is something I encountered happened last night. I was out on my balcony, and I was suddenly hit with a sharp pain, like someone had shoved a spear right through my stomach. I had to have Leo carry me to my bed because I couldn't move. I looked at it once he was gone, and it looked like a perfect circle, an ugly red color, with stress marks coming out of it. I got worried, and I decided to call Calypso through an Iris message the next morning, but when it should have given me an image, it turned black and exploded all over me."

I looked at Magnus. "I thought one of you might understand what's going on, since you are a bit more educated on parabati and magic bonds than I am."

Clary shrugged. "I have no experience with it. I barely know runes, much less how each works."

Isabelle pointed a slender finger to Jace, who shook his head, taking a bite out of a taco. "I can feel when Alec is hurt, or sick, and I hear when your parabati dies it's painful, but I've never had physical wounds from it."

Alec nodded, pale blue eyes wandering. "Same for me. Jace isn't usually drastically hurt, though."

Magnus looked at me, cat's eyes meeting mine. "Do you still have the wound?"

I nodded. "I've tried an Izrate rune on it already, but it did nothing."

He walked over, kneeling in next to me. "Let me see." I pulled up my tanktop, exposing the black and blue bruises and red wound. Magnus looked concerned.

"That does look nasty, doesn't it?"

"It twinges sometimes, but I don't feel any initial pain, really, except the first time really hurt." I mentioned.

Magnus raised a hand over my stomach, blue sparks flying off his fingertips. I felt my skin move, the last of the stress marks disappearing, but the epicenter of the wound remained.

He shook his head, standing up. "That's all I can do. It's dark magic, nothing like I've ever seen. It's worse that the demon poison that nearly killed Alec, and that took most of my energy to heal."

"So is she going to die?" Simon asked.

"I hope not. I really like living." I said, my curly black hair tumbling over my shoulders as I stood up next to Magnus.

"She'll be fine." Alec pushed his chair in, glancing at me. "Right?"

Magnus shifted. "As long as nothing else happens, yes, she's fine."

"Good." I said. "C'mon, let's go up to the upper decks to watch the sun set. Oh, and PLEASE don't mention this to anyone else."

"We won't." Isabelle said.

"Thanks. Alright, let's go." I spun on my heel, heading for the door.

"Lead the way, Jackson." Jace grabbed another burger off the tray, following me as I walked through the door leading to the stairwell.

I hurried up the dark stairwell, my fingers brushing the wall as I exited through the door, stepping onto the deck. I looked out, the sky shifting into a dark orange color as the sun began to set. It turned Hazel's frizzy brown hair a fiery red color, making everyone's skin glow.

I stopped suddenly, a bright silver flash catching my attention. Alec, not noticing that I had stopped, ran right into me. I nearly fell flat on my face, and I would have, had he not grabbed me around the waist. I patted his arm, my attention on something else.

"Look look look!" I pointed wildly, another silver flash lighting up on the deck.

"Let me go, Alec." I stumbled out of his grasp, looking at the spot where the flashes had originated. Another flash, and another, getting faster and faster, until it eventually formed a sparking silver ball. I bent over, drawing a knife, watching in curiosity as the ball spun faster and faster.

"What is that?" Hazel's eyes had gotten huge.

"Nothing good, probably. Stay away from it." Frank pulled her away, wrapping his arm around her waist protectively.

"It looks like magic to me." Magnus said, leaning on the railing.

"Should I check for signs?" I asked, looking over at him.

"It might hurt you, though." Leo argued, leaning on his control panel. I hadn't even noticed that he was standing up here.

"Where's Jason? Maybe he can tell you what it is. It does look at awful lot like lightning or electricity." Hazel said, pulling her hair back.

"He's down in the kitchen washing dishes with the other girl." Jace said through a mouthful of the burger he had grabbed.

"Maybe I should look a bit closer at it; after all, I can't die, right?" Simon asked. Isabelle grabbed his sleeve, yanking his arm hard.

"Yes, you can, idiot." She muttered into his ear.

"It's fine, I can look for magic." I crept closer to the silver ball, a near blur due to its speed.

"Be careful." Leo warned me. I ignored him, creeping closer, when it exploded silver light. I threw my arms up to cover my eyes, but I ended up falling on my knees.

I lowered my arms slowly, and saw a flickering image of a young girl with cinnamon brown hair and pale skin lying on the ground. She would have been beautiful, except for the dirt and bruises covering her body, her lovely shimmering white dress torn to pieces, covered in filth.

"Calypso?" I whispered, reaching out a shaking hand to touch her, but it was only an iris message. I couldn't reach through messages if I hadn't sent them, due to the fact I didn't know the exact location where the person may be, unless they had told me.

Her pale brown eyes opened slowly, and widened at the sight of me. She sat up, or at least tried to, but rusted chains held her hands and feet in place.

"Yo-ou have to help me, please, get me out, they're killing m-me." She croaked, coughing up blood. I saw a red stain on her dress, near her stomach, right where I had been hurt.

"Where are you? I'll get you out, I promise, I'll find you!" My voice was shaking uncontrollably. She didn't have the chance to answer.

"OY! You girl, shu' up! There ain't no one who gonna come to save yer filthy life." A raspy voice rang out, boots clomping near Calypso's cell. The door clanged open, and I saw two huge boots step in.

"Lookie here, trying to call for help, are ye?" A meaty hand grabbed her chin, forcing her head up to look at whoever was hurting her. Her eyes flashed defiance, and she bit his thumb, causing him to howl out.

"Do ye loike pain, then? How's about this?" His foot lashed out at her, kicking her in the gut. I fell back, a scream escaping my mouth, my stomach crying out in pain. I rolled up into a small ball, trying to clear my head.

"Leave me alone, or I'll kill you!" Calypso and I both shrieked simultaneously. I felt a sharp pain over my left eye, and my world began to fade in and out. I distinctly heard his boots clomp away from my bonded sister.

I pushed myself up on my arms, and felt Alec and Jace haul me up the rest of the way. I stood up slowly, leaning heavily on the two boys, using a bit of my healing energy to clear my throbbing head. I brushed them off me, and wobbled towards the iris message, kneeling down on one knee.

"I'll get you out, alright? I'm not going to let him keep hurting you." I whispered to Calypso, placing my fingertips on the Iris message, my head beginning to spin again. She nodded, barely. She lifted her bloodied fingers towards mine, her chains clanking together. As they touched, the message dissipated.

"Oh my gods, your head..." Hazel whispered. That was the last thing I heard before I crumpled to the floor of the deck.

I was barely aware of what was going on around me, a blur, as Leo leapt over his control board to get to me. He cradled my head while Alec and Isabelle drew Izrate runes on my arms and neck. I tried to sit up, delirious from the pain, but Isabelle pushed me back into Leo's lap, and I closed my eyes to try and stop my head from spinning.

I opened my eyes, cool night air brushing over my skin. The stars glowed dimly in the sky, the moon barely illuminating the deck, void of all people. I could feel warm arms around me, holding me tight. I could hear soft puffs of breath stirring the hair on my face.

I nestled in deeper to the embrace, leaning my head into the crook of his neck. I studied his skin, which was paler than I remembered, when I saw a dark smudge peeking out from underneath his black shirt. I pulled it down, to expose the angelic power rune, dark as night against his skin.

Startled, my green eyes flicked up to see not Leo's, but Alec's face, resting against my head.

My eyes flew open, my heart pounding, and I sat up in my bed, hitting my sore head against someone else's.

"Aa-owch..." I groaned, rubbing my forehead. Izrate runes might heal the wound, but there was still a bruise, apparently. I frowned, my mind computing what happened last night. Me and Alec? Really, you stupid brain? I was psychologically sicker than I thought.

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine." Leo was sprawled out on the floor, his hand placed dramatically over his head where I had hit him. His white shirt was already covered in grease and oil from working down with the machines.

I laughed, and threw my blankets to the side as I gingerly stepped out of bed. I apparently had magically changed clothes, or Piper must have done something, because I had a pair of black skinny jeans on, and a loose, off the shoulder, thin, black sweatshirt.

"I had a weird dream last night." I told Leo, grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet. He grabbed my waist, pulling me into a hug.

"And what was it about?" He prompted me.

"Nothing important." I tried to tell him, but my voice was muffled due to the fact I was speaking into his shoulder. I wasn't entirely ready to talk about Alec.

"Alright then." He drew away, cupping my face in his hands, scanning my green eyes with his soft brown ones. "We'll find Calypso." He assured me.

"I know we will. I know where she is, too, because she gave me coordinates when she touched my fingertips." I said.

"That's my girl." He lowered his head, brushing his lips to mine. I laced my fingers behind his neck, pulling him closer. I couldn't help but feel guilty of doing something wrong, even if I had simply dreamed of Alec holding me. It just felt too real to be a lie. I hate reality sometimes.

I broke away gently, grabbing a hairband off my dresser so I could braid my black hair to the side. Tiny curls escaped the twisting hairstyle, but Leo claimed it made me look pretty.

"Let's go get some food. I'm STARVING." I grabbed Leo's hand, dragging him behind me.

As we walked down the bright hall, we came upon a black ball curled up in a doorway.

"Hey, Nico." I called out. He raised his head, bleary eyed and scowling.

"What?" He snapped.

"C'mon down to the mess hall. You look like you need some food therapy." I said, tugging on the corner of Nico's black shirt.

"No." He buried his head back into his arms.

"Pleeeeease?" I begged. He looked up at me, dark hair falling into his blue eyes.

"If it'll make you stop doing THAT." He grimaced. I nodded.

"Fine." He stood up, following me and Leo to breakfast.

I could hear talking before we even got close to the hall. Once we walked through, everyone noticed my appearance, as if it was a surprise seeing me awake. Like I was going to choose sleep over food.

"Oh goodie, she's still alive." Jace drawled, leaning against the wall, eating a breakfast burrito. His golden eyes flicked over me, landing on the shadow of a bruise on my head.

"Of course I'm alive, you idiot." I responded, snatching a piece of bacon off a plate.

"Should you eat?" Piper asked. Her hair was braided like mine, but had beads and eagle feathers expertly tucked into it. Torn skinny jeans and a faded Hello Kitty t-shirt completed her tomboyish look.

I crunched down on the crispy, warm bacon. Nothing like it. Yum.

"I was hit in the head, not impaled in the stomach." I said through my bacon. People were often surprised to find me to be rather skinny because of the amount of food I consumed. I told them I did a lot of training.

"You were kicked in the stomach. Besides, not much will separate Echo from food." Nico grumbled from the corner. Isabelle's forehead crumpled.

"I don't remember seeing you around, except last night right before dinner." She said. Nico looked at her, dark blue eyes flashing.

"Good." He muttered.

"Oh, Nico, try to be at least a little social." Hazel said, setting a plate full of steaming muffins down next to a box of donuts. He didn't answer.

"Lovely soul, that one." Magnus said cheerily, flicking glittering blue sparks into the air. I laughed, earning me a glare from Nico.

"Everyone's different, Magnus." Clary interjected, wiping charcoal dust off her hands. She must have been busy drawing last night. "Just look at Simon."

"Wha-?" He had a glass full of dark red liquid. Probably blood. I wrinkled my nose.

"I would hate being a vampire." I said.

"I'm starving, and it's all I can eat, unfortunately." He responded.

"Too bad, you'd love the bacon." I grabbed another piece and stuffed it into a breakfast burrito. After I had taken a few bites, most of the initial joking had died down. Leo turned to me.

"So what are we supposed to do about Calypso?" He asked. I swallowed the rest of my huge bite of burrito, and raised a finger in the air.

"When she touched my fingertips, I was able to get a vague idea where she was." I said.

"Well, where is she?" Jason asked, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"She's in Athens." I replied. "I've no idea where in Athens, but that's where her cell is located."  
"Well, I guess we're off to Greece." Jace murmured.

"This is great. I'll be able to see all the architecture and have a chance to draw some of the scenery!" Clary said, exited.

"Oh joy." Magnus sighed.

Piper looked at me. "She's like Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Annabeth mushed into one."

I couldn't agree more. I was surprised Alec hadn't made fun of Clary yet, considering that he thought she was annoying at times, but when I scanned the room for him, he was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Izzy, where's your brother?" I asked, confused. Isabelle looked around.

"I think he's on the upper decks. He was really...quiet and reserved this morning. I've no idea why." She said.

I did, or at least I have a possible reason. Now I'll be able to figure out whether last night was a dream or reality.

"Um, I'll go look for him." I made a hasty exit, running for the stairs. I tripped on the way up them, splitting my lip slightly.

I tapped my lip with my finger, but the blood had already clotted.

"Wonderful." I always liked having a puffy lip to show off how clumsy I was.

I got to the top of the stairs, without tripping again (Thank the gods...) and saw Alec leaning on the railing, dressed in all black, as usual. I took a deep breath and started walking towards him.

"Hey, Alec." I shuffled to a stop, shoving my hands into my pockets. The wind snatched at my hair and sweatshirt; whipping them this way and that. Alec didn't acknowledge me, just kept squinting off into the distance.

"You probably came up here to be alone, but I had a question for you." I tried again.

"You're right. I came up here to be alone." He answered me.

"Alright, then, I'll go." I murmured, turning away. The comment stung; but at least I knew for certain about the whole situation. It must have been a dream. It didn't relieve my conscience, though.

"Where are you going?" Alec asked.

"Away, idiot. You obviously don't want anyone around, since you 'came up here to be alone'." I snapped, annoyed by his question. He was supposed to be my friend, at least. Now he was acting as if he barely knew me. I despise boy logic.

"I thought you had a question!" He yelled after me. I turned around, walking backwards, throwing my hands up into the air.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" I glared at him over my shoulder, turning back around. You know what? I needed ocean therapy. I spun on my heel and marched back towards Alec. I shoved him out of the way, pulling myself up onto the railing.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked; grabbing my arm and pulling me back down. I ripped it out of his grasp.

"Tell Leo I'll be on the ship when he needs me." I hissed at him, and pulled myself over the railing, jumping into the ocean with a simple backflip.

The minute I hit the water, all my anger sort of faded away. _OWWW_! I yelled silently into the ocean. My poor lip stung from the salt invading the now reopened cut. The scab must have come off when I hit the surface of the ocean. Great.

I let myself sink as bubbles of air trickled up, tickling my hands and face as they floated to the surface. I took a deep breath, letting the salty water fill up my lungs. It burned for a moment, but after a few more breaths of water I could breathe normally. Just another power I had as a daughter of Poseidon.

I was about to dive down to the ocean floor, when I became aware of a disturbance in the water.

I looked up, and saw two legs kicking the water. They were clad in black.

_Alec wouldn't be dumb enough to jump after me, would he?_ I thought.

He would.

I corrected myself. As much as I didn't want to talk to him, I wasn't going to let him drown. I located his back, and swan up behind him, surfacing where he couldn't see me.

"ECHO!" He yelled, clearly in some sort of frantic state. _Good_, I thought.

_Why would you jump in after me, you __**stupid**__ Nephilim?_ I asked telepathically, not wanting to go through the process of breathing in air. I had my arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. Alec spun around, black hair flinging droplets of water into my face.

"Why would you jump in in the first place?" He asked, annoyed.

I blinked. _Why wouldn't I? I'm a daughter of Poseidon, the water is my home, __**and**__ you were annoying the crap out of me._

Alec stared at me indignantly. "I wasn't trying to!"

I stared back. _Yes you were, or you were trying to get rid of me, which is why I left.  
_Alec shook his head. "I was just thinking about a dream I had last night."

My mind started racing. I sunk back down under the water, gulping in another few breaths. Well, it was a dream, after all, if Alec was in the lower decks...I just hope it wasn't the same one I had.

I surfaced, and grabbed his shoulders. _I __**need**__ you to tell me what it was about.  
_  
He ignored me. "What happened to your lip?" He cupped a hand under my chin, pulling my face towards his for observation. I shrugged_. I fell._

"You did a good job of it, obviously." He added, turning my face to the side. "You bruised your jaw, too."

I pushed his hand away. _It doesn't matter, Alec. I need you to tell me what your dream was about.  
_  
"It does too matter. You've already been hurt enough." He argued. I rolled my eyes, calling the water to me. It ran over my face, healing my cuts and bruises.  
_  
Better? NOW can you answer my question?_ Alec's eyes were huge.

"How'd you DO that?"

I mentally face-palmed myself. Apparently I wasn't going to get an answer.

Daughter of Poseidon, remember?

I grumbled, sinking back down quickly for another breath.

"Is that why you're breathing water?" He asked when I came back up. He's just avoiding my question now.

_ALEC. What was your dream about?!_

I was really annoyed at this point. He looked away, pale blue eyes scanning the horizon."I don't think you'd like to know." He whispered. I placed a hand on his cheek, turning his face towards mine.

I _**need**__ to know._ I said firmly."It was about you." He muttered, closing his eyes.

I let out a breath, then started choking on the water that came flowing out of my lungs.

"Crap." I gasped, hitting my chest firmly with my hand, my eyes watering from the burning in my throat. Alec watched, but made no move towards me. Once I had begun to breathe normally, I looked over at him. _Sebastian's got to be playing with our minds..._I thought.

"I'll talk to you about this later." I dove down into the water gracefully, swimming back towards the boat. Alec followed me, floundering about like a two year old. I should be glad he could swim, at least, if that's what you'd call what he was doing.

I reached the battered hull of the Argo II in no time. I used a bit of magic to create a ladder of sorts, something that I could use to climb up to the high decks. I hoisted one foot onto the first step of my ladder, willing the water off of me as I went. It streamed off, the droplets of water sparkling when catching the sunlight within them. The process left my clothes dry, but my skin remained damp with sea water.

As I climbed up, the sea breeze ruffled my hair, relaxing me. The sky was aglow with the light of day, reflecting onto the ocean's surface which was sparkling like a diamond. I looked away, not wanting to be distracted by its beauty, and saw the railing of the upper decks above me. I grabbed the cold metal pole, hauling myself up and over onto the deck. I landed on my back with a loud thump.

"Owww..." I moaned, squeezing my eyes shut. I was still sore from the fading wound on my stomach, and my head was beginning to constantly hurt from being banged around all the time.

"That doesn't look comfortable at all." I opened my eyes to find Magnus observing me with those cats eyes of his.

"What do you think it felt like? Landing on a heap of feathers?" I shot back, peeling myself away from the deck, standing up.

"That depends on what you think feathers feel like. They could feel like little needles pricking your skin for all you know." Magnus mused, his hands tucked neatly behind his back.

"I can tell you I'd rather land on feathers." I wasn't in the mood to argue about something this completely ridiculous. Magnus ignored my response, and inclined his head towards the doors leading below decks, as if he knew someone was coming.

Sure enough, Leo came running up, papers and maps flying everywhere. He threw everything down on top of his control board, and started punching random buttons. Well, random to me, at least. To him, they made some sort of logical sense.

He glanced up at me. "Do we still go towards that mountain you pointed out to me?" He asked. I nodded, squinting towards it.

"That's Mount Parnitha, which borders Athens. We'll be fine." I replied. I was about to head below decks to grab my seraph blades and some knives when Alec collapsed on the deck in a wet puddle.

"Took you long enough." I cracked a smile.

"Oh, shut up, E." He coughed, smiling back. Good, at least he was going to talk to me.

"I'll be right back, y'all. I just need to grab some sharp accessories, if you know what I mean." I said, jogging towards the door and down the stairs. My feet slapped the wood floor, echoing around the halls annoyingly. I should grab some black boots while I'm at it. Piper apparently didn't put them on my feet when she changed my clothes last night.

Once I reached my cabin, I grabbed my boots and zipped them up, strapping three small poisoned throwing knives to my left, and a longer knife to my right. I swung my two seraph blades over my shoulders, criss-crossed, so I could grab them at any given moment. I buckled my belt, hanging my hunting knife and my small axe on that, and slipped seven more throwing knives into my thigh sheathes. As I left, I snatched my stele off my dresser, sticking it into my pocket.

When I rounded the corner leading to the stairwell, I could hear muffled voices coming from above deck. I ran up the stairs, and nearly ran into Isabelle, who right by the entrance. I looked over her shoulder to see Nico huddled in a little ball in the center of the deck. Everyone was watching, but no one made the slightest move towards him.

I touched Izzy's shoulder. "What's going on?" I whispered to her.

"Just watch." She replied, pointing towards Nico. As her hand lowered, I saw Nico tense and his hands reached out suddenly, slamming into the deck. His head lifted, eyes closed, and he raised his hands over his head, releasing a shockwave of white light. Then he shrunk back down into a small ball again.

"It's some form of demonic possession." Magnus stated calmly. "Nothing I can't fix." He moved towards Nico, but Nico's hand shot up, and he lifted his head. His eyes were purely white.

"Stay back, downworlder." A growling, raspy voice came from his mouth. "I bear news of the girl you so desperately seek in Athens."

"Well, go on, tell us your great news!" Hazel demanded.

Nico waved his hand. "I will give it to you, but for a price."

"What price are we to pay, then?" Jace's golden eyes were lit with hatred. "Answer quickly, demon scum."

"I only ask for freedom from my prison in hell." He hissed.

"Is that all?" Magnus snorted. Nico, or whatever it was, nodded.

"Then we agree." Leo said. We all stared at him.

"Do you know what you just agreed to?!" I nearly shrieked.

"He might actually have valid information." He shrugged.

I crossed my arms, then shot a glare at Nico. "Tell us what you know."

Nico's white eyes glowed. "The girl is being held in the deepest depths of Athens. She has many guards, but the one who commands them all is the Nephilim's greatest enemy."

"That all?" Jason raised an eyebrow. Nico bowed his head in a nod.

"Then release Nico from your possession." Piper's charmspeak washed over the demon.

"You promised to release me, which would release the Ghost King from my control." Nico spread his hands.

"Yeah, well, we lied." Alec growled, seraph blade in hand. Nico's eyes darkened.

"Excellent. I believe I will kill you first." Nico's eyes rolled back into his head, as a shadow stepped out of his body. He collapsed onto the deck, and Hazel rushed to him to drag him away from the demon.

The shadow took form of a slumping beast, black and grey scales covering its body and a sharp tail whipping back and forth behind it. Long, white teeth were brandished as it hissed, a forked tongue escaping it's mouth. Clawed hands and feet scratched the floor while it paced back and forth in front of Alec. Glowing white eyes observed him, but snapped over to me.

"You are not the one that the girl's anchor care's for, are you?" It rasped, staring at me.

"HE is." It growled, pivoting on two feet and jumping, claws outstretched, towards Leo.

Magnus raised a hand, and a giant blue ball, crackling with energy, slammed into the creature. It went sailing away from Leo, but I still slid two throwing knives out of their sheaths and immediately my wrist instinctively flicked them towards the demon, knocking it off balance. I ran and threw myself on top of it, my elbows digging into its tail swung around wildly, spraying burning poison everywhere.

Piper had her dagger drawn, and ran towards it to deliver a blow, but she got a spray of the acid right to her face. She shrieked and covered her burned face with her hands. Hazel and Frank lugged Nico down the stairs, and Jason picked the now unconscious Piper up and ran after Hazel. Magnus was alongside Jason, murmuring spells to heal the acidic damage to her. Clary was drawing a healing rune on her palm to use to transfer energy from her to Piper. They all managed to get down the stair well; or so it would seem. My vision was fuzzy from being tossed around.

The demon hissed and threw me off its back. I slammed into the metal railing and crumpled, my head ringing. How much more abuse can my head take? I wondered silently. I distinctly heard Jace and Alec and Isabelle fighting it off, and I stood back up. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, and saw Leo running towards me.

"NO! Go back to where you were!" I yelled to him, running towards the fight. He slowed down, and lit his hands ablaze.

"I should at least help you!" He shouted back, running to me. I grabbed his shirt collar, and threw him back behind his control panel.

"You don't understand, Leo. That demon can and will kill you, and there would be nothing we could do but watch you die. If it stabs or scratches me or the other shadowhunters, it's not fatal for me or them because of our runes. STAY. HERE." I snapped.

I grabbed three more knives, throwing them towards the demon. They sliced through the scales like butter, but to no avail. The only thing that would kill it was a seraph blade, and there was no way to get close enough to the creature without getting stabbed.

I considered throwing a blue plastic hairbrush at it, for old time's sake. I didn't have any of those on me, though, so I had to figure something out quickly. I slid my two seraph blades out of their sheaths, and crept up behind the demon. Isabelle was distracting it by snagging its feet and yanking it off balance with her whip, but it would never stay down long enough for neither Alec nor Jace to stab it.

I was about ready to throw my seraph blade into its back, when the demon stilled. Its head snapped to the side, and before I could react, I saw the point of the poisonous tail slide directly into Leo's chest. He crumpled and fell. My heart stopped, and I glanced at Isabelle.

"Keep him safe!" I shrieked at her. She nodded and ran towards Leo's nonmoving figure.

I yanked my other seraph blade out of its sheath, and slammed one into the demon's head and the other went cleanly through its back. The demon raised its tail one last time, and hit Jace and Alec, sending them flying across the deck, before crumbling into burning dust.

"Oh my gods Leo..." My voice trailed off. I jogged towards him, and Isabelle lifted him up partially, and I grabbed his shoulders, his head rolling back and forth on my chest.

"Why didn't he LISTEN?" I said angrily, trying desperately not to cry. The odds of his survival were next to none.

"MAGNUS!" Isabelle yelled. A few minutes later, Magnus came running up the stairs and skidded to a halt next to us, kneeling down to the ground. His hands glowed, and he gently placed one on Leo's head and one on his chest, trying to draw the poison out.

Jace and Alec, who had apparently used iratzes to fix up their minor wounds, came over to us. Jace gave Isabelle a once over, but she only had a few scratches. Alec had to apply two healing runes and a serenity rune to me, but I was mentally breaking down. I wasn't ready to watch Leo die.

Magnus and Isabelle lifted Leo up and took him to his room, where he could have some more treatment from Magnus and some ambrosia from Jason. I followed them, right on their heels.

Leo was deposited onto his bed, and Magnus sent Isabelle and Jace on a hunt to find some roots and herbs to make salves for the wound. Magnus then promptly ushered the rest of us out of the bedroom, and closed the door. I started pounding on it.

"Magnus, you don't understand! I need to be there! What is he dies, and I can't say goodbye?!" I was in hysterics, imagining the worst. Alec had to drag me away from the door and shove me into my room.

"It's Magnus. He'll heal Leo." He said. I had my arms wrapped around myself, and I curled up in a little ball. I had to get over it, one way or another, I had to move on, but right now my heart was being torn apart.

"Why should I believe that? I watched you almost die, and you're a shadowhunter. I didn't think I'd ever forgive myself if I let you die, but Leo...I could DO something for you. I can't do anything for him. I can only watch and wait." My voice was raspy from screaming.

Alec sat down next to me, placing a hand on my arm gently. "Don't worry about that right now. I'm proof that something can be done, am I not?" I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"You're half angel."

"Leo's half god."

"He can't take runes."

"Why does that matter? They didn't work for me anyway!"

"Nephilim are supposed to be hurt by demons, halfbloods are not." I was exhausted and running out of arguments.

"No, we're not. You should know that."

"That's why we have the runes! So if we get hurt by demons, we can heal!" I wiped away my tears.

"Leo will be fine, I promise." Alec actually sounded sincere. I heaved a sigh, which made Alec shift.

"Am I making you uncomfortable? I'll move, if you want." I murmured, nearly asleep.

"No, you don't need to do that." Alec whispered back. I smiled.

"You're a great friend, Alec." I couldn't think straight. I must have been really tired.

"So I hear." I felt his smile.

"Thanks." I slurred, blacking out to a well deserved sleep.


End file.
